Welcome to a $9 billion town

San Francisco Chronicle

June 1, 2015

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee recognized the accomplishments of Governor Brown as he introduced him Thursday May 21, 2015. California Governor Jerry Brown was the first speaker at the Bay Area Council meeting discussing regional and statewide economic issues at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in San Francisco, Calif.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee recognized the accomplishments of...

All it takes is money to smooth San Francisco’s rough edges. Mayor Ed Lee, elected as a thrifty caretaker, plans to boost the city budget to a record $8.96 billion over two years.

The epic spending pours money on civic sore points such as spotty Muni service, police coverage and the persistent and visible plight of homelessness. The spending is powered by surging tax revenue generated by high employment and booming business and real estate taxes. A rich city is getting richer.

The spending is both wise and worrisome. It pours sums into Muni to buy buses and fix equipment, a one-time expense that doesn’t add to continual bills. It brings the police ranks up to an authorized strength of 1,971 officers after years of retirements and departures. The Fire Department, which runs on overtime to cover staffing shortages, expects to hire almost 250 firefighters and ambulance staff. Nonprofits, which do the heavy lifting on social services, will get a 2.5 percent budget boost.

But the increases add 1,178 new hires, creating salary and pension obligations in future years when San Francisco’s rocket-fuel economy may fall to Earth. The budget’s likely approval by the Board of Supervisors will bring the public ranks to almost 30,000 employees, much of them unionized.

It’s hard to resist the pressure to spend with a demanding electorate and easily spotted problems. Lee, though, came to office four years ago — first appointed and then elected to a four-year term — as a wary moderate who spoke about trimming city costs. In fact, we specifically recall his pledge to make city government more efficient — and to reduce the size of the workforce — when he was running for a full term in 2011.

San Francisco’s prosperity gives it a chance to repair the damage of recession years and take care of rundown operations. The surge in population and incomes has created fresh problems such as record housing prices and overtaxed city services, both needing immediate and forceful answers.

Lee’s budget is a reflection of the city’s strong financial shape. But the good times are not going to last forever, and this growing budget will become a big burden in the next downturn.